Veteran Reefers list your top 3 worst reef annoyances

[Al.B]

I’m only a couple months in and have had a few uglies already and worst so far, hair algae, and wondering which battles are going to be the worst in reefing. Nuisance algae, bacteria, pests, maybe other issues. List the main characteristic that made it so difficult to deal with.

 

[EricR]

I'm not a veteran reefer but, so far, my biggest annoyance is dinoflagellates:
I let phosphates bottom out and got dino infestation (over a year ago),,, don't do that.
Got passed it and was clean for many months (maybe close to a year) but starting to get some again, just recently.

 

[flashsmith]

1. Aiptasia
2. Skyrocketing equipment costs
3. Skyrocketing supply costs such as additives,salt,food etc.. throw in livestock costs.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

I’m a noob, not vet. But,
1. Dino. My phosphate bottomed out a couple months back after GFO stripped the system, still battling dino.
2. Hydriod medusa. They appeared out of nowhere right after my cycle. Literally out of nowhere. I didn’t add anything to the tank yet, just dry rock and sand. They have grown in population but not actively harming corals or fish. They are benign in this stage, IMO, but could morph into a real problem
3. Vermitid snails
4. Hermit crabs. I watched 2 of them killing each other on top of a ticked off blasto next to 3 empty shells. They’re ridiculous!

 

[Dbichler]

Dinos cyano and aptasia

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Primary equipment failures or power irregularities / outages have been the sole causes of major issues in my 30yrs keeping reef tanks.

Algae, pests and disease are manageable risks. They’ll generally get the better of you when you rush things, slack off with maintenance, QT or inspection or just make wrong / impulsive decisions.

 

[Uncle99]

Aptasia, Aptasia and Aptasia.